Justice Mukheli: It’s an emotional interrogation that’s happening inside of me
Photographer: Jack McKain
Photographer: Justice Mukheli
There are some conversations that linger - like a meal that reminds you not only of the food you ate but the people you shared it with, or a fragrance that triggers a memory - I have that with sunscreen it always transports me to being on holiday.
I was speaking with an artist friend of mine about our need to be inspired, it’s the engine of our creativity. And because of that I like to create moments or find beauty in moments, almost like a well of memory to draw from. And I have some favourite moments: London in the summertime, spending all afternoon in the park with friends, cycling home around 930pm the sky a velvety inky indigo, the breeze rushing passed my ears. The light in Johannesburg before midday, it’s a crystalline light, as if to remind you that anything is possible. Coffee first thing in the morning, quiet with my thoughts, being around children who remind me to keep it simple and look for the wonder.
What’s any of this got to do with today’s interview you may ask? Well, everything. Speaking to South African photographer and director Justice Mukheli was for me another one of those moments, of creating memory.
I first fell upon Justice’s work about 7 years ago through his blog ‘I see a different you’ a site dedicated to showing South African youth style through the lens of the people who wore the clothes, a way of reframing a traditional South African narrative. We talk about his journey into photography and directing, about his beautiful, art-filled richly creative childhood, about honouring the legacy of those who paved the way during the apartheid struggle, furthering the next generation of artists, and to put it in Justice’s words, art as a way to ‘archive emotion’.
As a songwriter, I write from the images I see in my mind until the words and the images weave in and out of each other. Many times during this interview Justice describes an event or a childhood memory that flooded my mind with pictures - there were a number of times during our conversation where I just wanted to stop and reflect on what he said but remembered I was conducting an interview!
I know I’m being particularly effusive about this guest, but I found it to be a truly special conversation. I think listening to Justice speak you’ll see what I mean.